Excerpt

Modern biology is rooted in an understanding of the molecules within cells and of the
interactions between cells that allow construction of multicellular organisms. The
more we learn about the structure, function, and development of different organisms,
the more we recognize that all life processes exhibit remarkable
similarities. Molecular Cell Biology concentrates on the
macromolecules and reactions studied by biochemists, the processes described by cell
biologists, and the gene control pathways identified by molecular biologists and
geneticists. In this millennium, two gathering forces will reshape molecular cell
biology: genomics, the complete DNA sequence of many organisms, and proteomics, a
knowledge of all the possible shapes and functions that proteins employ.

All the concepts of molecular cell biology continue to be derived from experiments,
and powerful experimental tools that allow the study of living cells and organisms
at higher and higher levels of resolution are being developed constantly. In this
fourth edition, we address the current state of molecular cell biology and look
forward to what further exploration will uncover in the twenty-first century.